Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration

Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration
Author: Cheryl L. Bruno
Publisher: Greg Kofford Books
Total Pages: 532
Release: 2022-08-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

While no one thing can entirely explain the rise of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the historical influence of Freemasonry on this religious tradition cannot be refuted. Those who study Mormonism have been aware of the impact that Freemasonry had on the founding prophet Joseph Smith during the Nauvoo period, but his involvement in Freemasonry was arguably earlier and broader than many modern historians have admitted. The fact that the most obvious vestiges of Freemasonry are evident only in the more esoteric aspects of the Mormon faith has made it difficult to recognize, let alone fully grasp, the relevant issues. Even those with both Mormon and Masonic experience may not be versed in the nineteenth-century versions of Masonry's rituals, legends, and practices. Without this specialized background, it is easy to miss the Masonic significance of numerous early Mormon ordinances, scripture, and doctrines. Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration offers a fresh perspective on the Masonic thread present in Mormonism from its earliest days. Smith's firsthand knowledge of and experience with both Masonry and anti-Masonic currents contributed to the theology, structure, culture, tradition, history, literature, and ritual of the religion he founded.

People of Paradox

People of Paradox
Author: Terryl L. Givens
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2007-08-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0198037368

In People of Paradox, Terryl Givens traces the rise and development of Mormon culture from the days of Joseph Smith in upstate New York, through Brigham Young's founding of the Territory of Deseret on the shores of Great Salt Lake, to the spread of the Latter-Day Saints around the globe. Throughout the last century and a half, Givens notes, distinctive traditions have emerged among the Latter-Day Saints, shaped by dynamic tensions--or paradoxes--that give Mormon cultural expression much of its vitality. Here is a religion shaped by a rigid authoritarian hierarchy and radical individualism; by prophetic certainty and a celebration of learning and intellectual investigation; by existence in exile and a yearning for integration and acceptance by the larger world. Givens divides Mormon history into two periods, separated by the renunciation of polygamy in 1890. In each, he explores the life of the mind, the emphasis on education, the importance of architecture and urban planning (so apparent in Salt Lake City and Mormon temples around the world), and Mormon accomplishments in music and dance, theater, film, literature, and the visual arts. He situates such cultural practices in the context of the society of the larger nation and, in more recent years, the world. Today, he observes, only fourteen percent of Mormon believers live in the United States. Mormonism has never been more prominent in public life. But there is a rich inner life beneath the public surface, one deftly captured in this sympathetic, nuanced account by a leading authority on Mormon history and thought.

Joseph's Temples

Joseph's Temples
Author: Michael W Homer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2024-12-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781647692124

Mormonism For Beginners

Mormonism For Beginners
Author: Stephen Carter
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2016-07-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1939994535

Mormonism For Beginners is a balanced, richly engaging introduction to the history, tenets, practices, traditions, and yes, debates and controversies of this uniquely American Protestant movement. Designed for the uninitiated or younger members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), this book presents the history of the movement from Joseph Smith to the 21st century along with the key doctrines of the faith in the context of everyday life, as well as the essential scriptures. Not least of Carter and Atwood’s accomplishments is addressing such headline-grabbing issues as polygamy, same-sex marriage, and the role of women in the LDS church in dispassionate, even-handed terms. Their goal is to shed a clear light on an often misunderstood belief system and way of life.

“This Is My Doctrine”: The Development of Mormon Theology

“This Is My Doctrine”: The Development of Mormon Theology
Author: Charles R. Harrell
Publisher: Greg Kofford Books
Total Pages: 598
Release: 2011-08-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

The principal doctrines defining Mormonism today often bear little resemblance to those it started out with in the early 1830s. This book shows that these doctrines did not originate in a vacuum but were rather prompted and informed by the religious culture from which Mormonism arose. Early Mormons, like their early Christian and even earlier Israelite predecessors, brought with them their own varied culturally conditioned theological presuppositions (a process of convergence) and only later acquired a more distinctive theological outlook (a process of differentiation). In this first-of-its-kind comprehensive treatment of the development of Mormon theology, Charles Harrell traces the history of Latter-day Saint doctrines from the times of the Old Testament to the present. He describes how Mormonism has carried on the tradition of the biblical authors, early Christians, and later Protestants in reinterpreting scripture to accommodate new theological ideas while attempting to uphold the integrity and authority of the scriptures. In the process, he probes three questions: How did Mormon doctrines develop? What are the scriptural underpinnings of these doctrines? And what do critical scholars make of these same scriptures? In this enlightening study, Harrell systematically peels back the doctrinal accretions of time to provide a fresh new look at Mormon theology. “This Is My Doctrine” will provide those already versed in Mormonism’s theological tradition with a new and richer perspective of Mormon theology. Those unacquainted with Mormonism will gain an appreciation for how Mormon theology fits into the larger Jewish and Christian theological traditions.

Fire and Sword

Fire and Sword
Author: Leland Homer Gentry
Publisher: Greg Kofford Books, Incorporated
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: Missouri
ISBN: 9781589581203

Many Mormon dreams flourished in Missouri. So did many Mormon nightmares. The Missouri period--especially from the summer of 1838 when Joseph took over vigorous, personal direction of this new Zion until the spring of 1839 when he escaped after five months of imprisonment¿represents a moment of intense crisis in Mormon history. Representing the greatest extremes of devotion and violence, commitment and intolerance, physical suffering and terror--mobbings, battles, massacres, and political ¿knockdowns¿--it shadowed the Mormon psyche for a century. In the lush Missouri landscape of the Mormon imagination where Adam and Eve had walked out of the garden and where Adam would return to preside over his posterity, the towering religious creativity of Joseph Smith and clash of religious stereotypes created a swift and traumatic frontier drama that changed the Church.

Second Witness

Second Witness
Author: Brant Gardner
Publisher: Greg Kofford Books Incorporated
Total Pages: 469
Release: 2007
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1589580419

"This volume, the first of six, devotes serious attention to the foundational questions: (1) What is a useful approach to Book of Mormon geography? (2) What contributions can archaeology, anthropology, and ethnohistory make to Book of Mormon questions? (3) What constituted Nephite theology in these first generations? (4) What were Mormon's sources and how did he organize his work? One of the most exciting insights of this volume is its reconstruction of the politics behind the Deuteronomic reforms of King Josiah. These reforms deemphasized an earlier Messiah-centered theology that more fully acknowledged the council of the gods, the war in heaven, Yahweh's feminine consort, originally worshipped in the temple, and Isaiah, the poet-prophet who foretold the Messiah's coming. Did Lehi's acceptance of this earlier, Christ-centered religion explain the death threats against him in Jerusalem? If Laman and Lemuel accepted those reforms, did this intrafamily disagreement produce a thousand years of hostility between Nephites and Lamanites in the New World? Other contributions of this volume are a fresh look at what the Book of Mormon actually says about skin color, the pressures of local polytheistic culture on Nephite theology, and the Isaiah-based egalitarian ideal of Nephite culture."--Bk. jkt.

Knowing Brother Joseph Again

Knowing Brother Joseph Again
Author: Davis Bitton
Publisher:
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2011-07-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781589581234

Rev. ed. of: Images of the prophet Joseph Smith / Davis Bitton. 1996.

Common Ground, Different Opinions

Common Ground, Different Opinions
Author: Justin F. White
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781589585737

Book Description: There are many hotly debated issues about which many people disagree, and where common ground is hard to find. From evolution to environmentalism, war and peace to political partisanship, stem cell research to same-sex marriage, how we think about controversial issues affects how we interact as Latter-day Saints. In this volume various Latter-day Saint authors address these and other issues from differing points of view. Though they differ on these tough questions, they have all found common ground in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the latter-day restoration. Their insights offer diverse points of view while demonstrating we can still love those with whom we disagree. Praise for Common Ground--Different Opinions: "[This book] provide models of faithful and diverse Latter-day Saints who remain united in the body of Christ. This collection clearly demonstrates that a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive issues do in fact exist in the Church. . . . [T]he collection is successful in any case where it manages to give readers pause with regard to an issue they've been fond of debating, or convinces them to approach such conversations with greater charity and much more patience. It served as just such a reminder and encouragement to me, and for that reason above all, I recommend this book." -- Blair Hodges, Maxwell Institute "After all these conversations, do we actually find 'common ground' here? Is there some place or idea upon which these sometimes opposing views can come together and meet? Each author has ties to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Each author expresses herself or himself clearly, succinctly, confidently and courteously. They are one in community, but they are not one in opinion. And when those differing opinions are expressed thoughtfully--and received respectfully--as they are in Common Ground, the community is enriched and there is room for growth on all sides." -- Laura Compton, Association for Mormon Letters Contributors to this volume: Bob Bennett Kent R. Brooks Sariah Cottrell Richard Davis Eric A. Eliason Daniel Fairbanks James Faulconer Robert L. Gleave David Grandy Kristine Haglund George B. Handley David A. Jensen Robert Millet Nathan B. Oman Taylor G. Petrey Steven L. Peck Justin F. White Camille S. Williams Marleen S. Williams Richard N. Williams Larry Wimmer Bruce Young Margaret Blair Young